In a typical audio or video call, especially one involving many participants, noise generated by non-speaking participants can contaminate the speaking participant's speech, thereby causing a distraction or even interrupting the conversation. An example scenario is where each participant on a conference call is using his or her own computer to connect to the call and is working on a task in parallel also using the computer (e.g., typing notes about the call). While embedded microphones, loudspeakers, and webcams in computers (e.g., laptop computers) have made conference calls very easy to set up, these features have also introduced specific noise nuisances such as feedback, fan noise, and button-clicking noise. Button-clicking noise, which is generally due to the mechanical impulses caused by keystrokes, can include annoying key clicks that all participants on the call can hear aside from the main conversation. In the context of laptop computers, for example, button-clicking noise can be a significant nuisance due to the mechanical connection between the microphone within the laptop case and the keyboard.
The impact that transient noises such as key clicks have on the overall user experience depends on the situation in which they occur. For example, in active voiced speech segments, key clicks mixed with the voice from the speaking participant are better masked and less detectable to other participants than during periods of silence or periods where only background noise is present. In these latter situations the key clicks are likely to be more noticeable to the participants and perceived as more of an annoyance or distraction.